The Chorus of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre is a big ensemble comprised of about 80 members. The Chorus is a permanent member of operas, vocal or symphonic concerts and a series of ballet performances produced by the Theatre.
Its members are regular participants in major festivals such as the International Mariinsky Far East Festival (Vladivostok), the Moscow Easter Festival, the Far East Musical Express Festival, the Slavonic Literature and Culture Day Project, and many more.
In 2014, the Chorus of the Primorsky Stage took part in the Choral Bridge: Moscow – Vladivostok Festival, where it performed jointly with the oldest Russian amateur choral ensemble – the Academic Chorus of the Moscow State University conducted by Mirza Askerov. The closing concert of the Cultural Bridges: St Petersburg – Vladivostok Festival featuring the Chorus was broadcast on the Orpheus Radio Station, a Russian state classical music channel. The Chorus of the Primorsky Stage has been for several years involved in the All-Russian Action held during the Slavonic Literature and Culture Day celebrations, as a part of the Joint Chorus of the Primorsky Region. Some pieces from those festive concerts have been broadcast live on the Red Square.
High professionalism of the Chorus has been on many occasions noted by such directors as Irkin Gabitov, Alain Maratrat (France), Yuri Laptev, and Olga Malikova, such singers as Sergei Leiferkus and Maria Guleghina, and such conductor as Pavel Petrenko, to name a few. Also, the Chorus of the Primorsky Stage had frequently earned high acclaim from Valery Gergiev.
The Chorus repertoire includes large-scale compositions such as W.-A. Mozart’s Requiem, L. Beethoven’s Missa solemnis or Choral Fantasia, G. Verdi’s Requiem, P. Tchaikovsky’s Moscow, M. Mussorgsky’s Joshua, The Destruction of Sennacherib or Oedipus, S. Taneyev’s John of Damascus, S. Rachmaninoff’s The Bells or Spring, F. Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 2 or Hymn of Praise, S. Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky or Ivan the Terrible, and D. Shostakovich’s A Song of the Forest, The Execution of Stepan Razin, Symphonies No. 2 (To October), No. 3 (the First of May) and No. 13 (Babi Yar), and many others.
The ensemble is a regular participant in concerts dedicated to remarkable days, such as the Defender of the Motherland Day, the International Women’s Day, Easter, the Victory Day, as well as chamber programmes featuring opera soloists.
The Chorus of the Primorsky Stage has also taken part in the Ballet Company’s tour at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, and in Doha, Qatar, as well as in the Opera Company’s tour at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg.
Larisa Shveikovskay is the Principal Chorus Master.
